Monday, January 5, 2015

Yesterday, I checked the refrigerator for greens that needed using up. We live on an island, so we only shop every 2 weeks. I'm trying to avoid any food waste (watching this documentary has strengthened my resolve!), so I moved all the vegetables out of the refrigerator drawers (filled them with condiments) and I have my veggies right in the center of the fridge, with the ones that need to be used up first in the front, so that I don't forget about them. Anyway, I had spinach and baby bok choy to use up, so I turned to two of my older recipes. (BTW, if you can't watch that movie outside of Canada, check out this review and watch for screenings in your area-- it's worth watching!)

For lunch, I made Baby Bok Choy and Tofu Soup from my book "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen: All Vegan Recipes", and, for dinner (because I had some vegan crepes left over from Saturday breakfast, and some of DH's spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator), I made Italian Savory Crepes Stuffed with Vegan Ricotta & Spinach from my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen: Delicious Home-Style Vegan Cuisine", both with a couple of little tweaks. It's been too long since I made these recipes-- so delicious and healthful! So, I'd like to share the recipes with you. Enjoy!Crepes have been made in Italy for
centuries, with many different types of flours.They are particularly popular in Tuscany.Filled
crepes that are cut into short lengths and baked are called bocconcini, which
means "little mouthfuls".Crespelle "cakes", or timbali, are crepes stacked with filling
in between and cut into wedges.

Many delicious vegetables stuffings
are popular (you can use a filling as simple as just steamed, chopped in-season
vegetables held together with thick besciamella sauce), particularly the spinach and ricotta filling
from Florence, which I have veganized and used in the following recipe.

Crespelle can be made ahead (even
frozen), and they make an elegant dinner dish for company or special occasions,
such as Easter dinner.

These vegan crespelle are nice and
tender, thin but not fragile, roll well, and have a delicate flavor. PS: The crepe recipe I used last night and publish here is actually from another on of my books,"Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause".

12 vegan crepes (see my recipe below-- can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen--OR you can use my recipe for Fat-Free Whole Grain Crepes)Spinach and "Cheese" Filling:2 onions, minced1 T. extra-virgin olive oil2 lbs. fresh cleaned spinach, OR 2/ 10 oz. pckgs. chopped frozen spinach, thawed1 1/2 cups Tofu or Almond Ricotta OR Okara/Cashew Ricotta4 to 6 tablespoons vegan Parmesan substitute (we like GoVeggie! brand)salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmegBake crespelle with a light tomato sauce or a medium Besciamella (Bechamel) sauce, ( or you can layer Besciamella over the tomato sauce, for a really special dish), along with a vegan Parmesan substitute or alternate. There is a recipe for my low-fat Creamy White-Bean-Flour Based Bechamel here, and my basic vegan Bechamel/White sauce recipe is here.
Sauté the onions in the olive oil in a non-stick or cast iron or hard-anodized skillet until they are soft and starting to brown (adding a tiny bit of water as needed, to keep from sticking). Meanwhile, place the fresh spinach in boiling water until it is completely wilted, then drain, squeeze dry, and chop it finely. OR, if using frozen chopped spinach, thaw it thoroughly (you can quick-thaw it by placing the whole carton in the microwave for 5 minutes) and squeeze it as dry as possible.Mix the spinach in a bowl with the cooked onions, ricotta, Parmesan sub , and salt, pepper and to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place a generous amount of filling down the center of each crepe and roll it up.

Place the rolls in an oiled baking dish. (You can prepare the crepes up to this point several hours ahead of time.)

Pour a little of the sauce you are using over the crepes, sprinkle with Parmesan or alternative (and some shredded vegan mozza-type cheese, too, if you like) and bake for 20 minutes.

Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender until very smooth. If the batter seems too thick (and it should be like thick cream), whisk in a bit more non-dairy milk or water until it is the right consistency.

No need to "rest" this batter first. Tofu crepes are made just like ordinary crepes.

Heat a nonstick or cast-iron 8" skillet over medium-high heat and wipe it lightly with oil before making each crepe. Use 3-4 tablespoons of batter per crepe (stirring the batter before you make each crepe), rolling and tilting the pan until it evenly covers the bottom. Cook for a few seconds, or until the top looks dry.

Carefully loosen the crepe with a spatula and flip it over.

After a few seconds the other side should be dry.

Fold into quarters or roll like a jelly roll and place on a plate (or leave them flat if you are going to stack them with filling). If you are going to use the crepes shortly, cover them with a clean tea towel.

Either fill the crepes and serve according to the specific recipe directions, or let them cool and place in a plastic bag or rigid container (with pieces of waxed paper in between each crepe) and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze them for future use (thaw thoroughly before filling).

If
using the commercial fried tofu cubes, pour boiling water over them, let stand
for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out as much water and oil as you
can. Cut the cubes in half.

Heat a large wokéstir-fry pan or heavy pot over high heat. When hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the bok choy, dried
mushrooms and fresh mushrooms. Stir-fry
for 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining
ingredients, including the mushroom soaking water and the fried or oven-broiled tofu. Let it simmer for a few minutes, until
everything is hot.

Serve immediately and pass the sesame oil to sprinkle
over each serving.

Cut 12-14 ounces of extra-firm tofu into cubes or triangles of your choice of size. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Place the tofu pieces, not touching, on the sheet and spray lightly with oil from a pump sprayer. Place the sheet about 6 inches under a heated oven broiler. Broil for several minutes (checking every couple of minutes), until the tofu is golden and crusty, and maybe even a little charred, on top. Turn the pieces over and repeat for the other side. The 2nd side will take less time, so watch carefully! Remove from the oven immediately. PS: You can make a large batch of this and refrigerate for other recipes.

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ABOUT MISSING PHOTOS ON OLDER BLOG POSTS:

If you are wondering what happened to the photos on my older blog posts, here's the deal: I used to use Photobucket to store my photos and uploaded them to my blog posts from there. Since about 2012, I have uploaded pics from my computer files instead. All of a sudden, Photobucket is demanding $39 a month for storage and you can't download pictures to blogs or other sites unless you pay that. I find that fee outrageous (and I'm not the only one!). UPDATE: I discovered that I could upload albums from from PB to my computer (or external hard drive). So, I have done that, but it took a couple of days. Now I just have to locate the correct pictures for the old blogs! One step at a time. My apologies... please bear with me! BCG

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